Apparatus for treating ore.



'Nm 366,570. PATBNTBD SEPT. l?, QG'' J. W. BLEE.

APPARATUS GRV TETNG ORL 2 sums-sass? 1.V

PATENTED SEPT. Y?, 90?.

s, W'Yrsfgsu. APPARATUS Ps3 TR1-:Mms GRB.

APPLIGATIQ! ILED HAY 5. 1903.

[NI/EN TOR UNITED STATES YPATENT OFFICE.

JAMES W. BOILEAU, OF DENVER, COLORADO, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO JAMES l. KNOBLOCK, OF DENVER, COLORADO.

APPARATUS FOR TREATING ORE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 17, 1907.

Application filed Hay 6,1993. Serial No. 155,761.

To all whom it 'may concern:

Be it known that I, Jimas W. Boussu, a native born citizen of the United States, residing at Denver, Denver county,- State of Colorado, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Treating Orcs; and 1 do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invern tion, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in apparatus for the treatment, in a ready, simple and eiective marmer, of ores which it is desired to roast, and embraces means whereby, at the same time, said eres may be subjected to the inliuence of oxidizing or carbonating agents, as may he desired by the operator.

As is well known, metallierous ores hold their vaL ues in varying combination and require a method of treatment consonant with their peculiar chemical foreliminate by volatilization those ingredientswhichV would bc injurious if brought into Contact with the iron structure oi the roasting apparatus; supplemental means whereby such volatlized ingredients may be centered and limited, if desired; means wse'rsbyih@ ore may be roasted at gradually increasing tempera turcs; means whereby, during the process of roasting, the ore will be thoroughly agitated and subjected to the inuenceo air, oxygen, or such other gaseous agents as may be best adapted to the particular ore under treatment; and means for minimizing the transmission of heat between the parts of the apparatus und i providing for the ready renewal of thersame.

In the accompanying drawings, I'hsve illustrated a preferred embodiment o my invention, and athough Y it will be obvious that certain modifications of form and arrangement will suggest themselves to the skilled operator and mechanic, such modifications come weil within the spirit of my invention as disclosed and claimed, and l do not, therefore, desire to be limited to the exact construction and arrangement shown.

In thcse-druwiugs Figure lis a side cievation of the apparatus with one wall of the :easter and drier removed in order to show the arrangement of the parts; Fig. 2 is an enlarged cross section on the line :r-x of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is an end elevation of the apparatus; and Fig. 4 is a detail showing certain parts on an enlarged scale. Y

Referring to the drawings more in detail, the rooster consists of an inclined chamber l, preferably disposed at an angle of about 30 degrees to the horizontal, and communicating at its lower extremity with the recup tacle 2 for the roasted product. Adjacent to this rcceptacle and beneath the lower extremity of the roasting chamber 1 is a furnace 3 provided with a stack 4 extending beneath the inclined roasting chamber and serving to carry the heated products of combustion the full length thereof, and to discharge the smoke into the flue 5 while permitting the larger portion of the heat to enter and traverse the drying chamber. On either side of and adjacent to the furnace are arranged gas generators 6, provided with the usual doors for the insertion of fuel, removal of ashes, ctc. These generators will in some cases be used for the heating of air supplied by the iansf36 orior superheating steam supplied by theV pipes 3'?. The pi pe' leads from the gssgencrators beneath the chamber 1 and discharges through an elbow into the lower portion of the drying chamber, from whence the heated gases, mingling with those from the furnace, pass upward through the drying chamber in contact with the material descending therein. This pipe is controlled by suitabe valves, and is also tapped by the branch pipes B, provided with the valves 9, which communicate with the interior oi the roasting chamber in such manner as to subseve an important function to be hereinafter fully described.

The drying chamber 10 is a substantially verticsi prolongation of the roasting chamber 1 and is provided with inclined plates 11 by means oi which theore is deected from side to side in its descent through said chamber. The drying chamber is equipped in its upper portion with the leed screw 12 and spreader 12* 'by means of which the ore is fed into the said chamber and egress of gases therefrom effectually prevented.

Tapping the upper portion of the drying chamber isf a pipe 13 which leads to the upper portion of a supplemental sealed tank 14 and discharges therein the heated air, gases and fumes hom the drying and roasting chambers. The pip@ 15 leads from a bauer to the upper portionxof this tank 14 and serves to introduce steam for the purpose of condensing the gases and precipitating-the fumes introduced thereto. This tank has a funnel-shaped bottom provided with a valve by means of which matters deposited in said tank may be removed. The tank 16 is ci a somewhatsimilar construction and is provided with the pipe 17 by means oi which the waste gases are allowed to escape to the outer air. This tank 16 is partially lled with water,

und the pipe 18 leads from the upper portion of the tank 1.4 and discharges beneath the surface of the water in the *tank 16. A pipe 19 leads from the bottomof the tank 16 into a storage tank 20 for the withdrawal 5 of the sulfuric acid or other product formed in said tank according to thc nature ofthe elements introduced I thereto.

Referring again to the roasting chamber 1, the saine hasalower floor formed of aseries of concave shelves 21 1.0 merging into an inclined portion 22 connecting in turn with the next concave shrill as at 23. These concave shelves and inclined portions orming the upper and lower walls of the clwlnlbor l are preferably made of Aoverlapping plates hsrwzimg lip joints to allow lor ex# lib pansion and contraction Iunder the influence ofvarying degrees of heat, andasse so arranged that the parts may Abe readily renewed. i

A series of wheels 24 are mounted within Hille wasting #chamber 1 in auch manner as to rotate frlherein with 'their peripheries closely adjacent to 'dife tupper and `lowerv concave surfaces 21. These wilrsdls are provided with a plurality of periphml soonps or buckets 25, and are each carried by a suitahle'hait 26 through the lwalls of the chamber. Each such i 25 shaft (Fig. 2) is provided with an enlargementor shoulder in the form of a plate 27 which is bolted or otherwise scanned to a corresponding plate 2S carried by the supplemental or stub shaft 29.` Between the two plates is placed a 30 of asbcf or other 30 suitable Ilm-ounductor of heat. These shaft enlargements or phm :are arranged no rotate with their lower edges within a lbasin 31 adapted to ,contain water to minimize the mmsmission ci heat ltromthe main shaft to the stub dirait, boxing and gearing. The supple- 35 mental or dnb sihait is' journaled im aboxing 32 and carries the at wheels 33. The sprocket wheels o the several shafts the series meet by mea.ns ai the usual chain helts, and one mnnore of the shalt! carrying a main hiwing pulley 35 operated from any 40 suitable source of The operation ai tllhe device isas follows: A fire is started in the furnazand, after the roasting chamber is brouglt to the temperature, the ore is fed by meanso the convepier`12 into the upper portion of `the dryilg chamber Ml, ,and descendsntlhrough the reame, being deected fronnside to side hy means of the iinclined plates 1l. ln its@ through tlhis drying dbamber the ore is brought ttlhoroughly into contact with the heatdair coming from ithe roasting chamber and also with the .hot air or other gas from the. upper extremity of the pipe 7. By (the time the ore reaches the roasting chamber its moidzure is thoroughly elimi- Dated and thus the introduction of sulfurous acid and other destructive agents into the roasting chamber is 5 5 obviated, all the fumes driven olfin the roasting chamber al well as those within the drying chamber being carried ofi by the pipe 13 and deposited Within the i tanks provided for their reception and utilization. As

the ore, thus dried and freed from its easily volatilized4 constituents, enters the roasting chamber and is deposited upon the rst concave shelf in the series, it is picked up'by the peripheral scoops 25, and carried over the wheels 24 and allowed to fall upon the inclined approach to the next concave shelf. In its fall from said scoop it is thoroughly impregnated with the gas well as the( temperature at which applied. As the ore discharged from the branch pipes 8 which discharge their contents from either side directly into the falling mass of ore. At. this point the ore is subjected to an oxidizing or carbonating action according to the naturel of the gas furnished by the generators 6. Inthe treatment of certain ores, such for instance, as those carrying gold, silver or copper as a sulfld or suluret, I prefer to introduce at this point a blast of heated air, or oxygen for the purpose of oxidizing the sulfur in the well known manner. In case the ore carries gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, antimony bismuth, tin, etc. as a metallic oxid, it is often found advantageous to generate in the chambers 6 a carbon gas such as carbon monoxid and introduce the same in a highly heated condition, together with superheated dry steam, into the falling body of ore, whereupon the same bursts into flame, reducing the ore and escaping as carbon dioxid. Or, such :gas may be generated and supplied to the chambas :as may be necessary for the formation of sulfuric will iin conjunction with those vapors given off by the It will befseen that by means of the valves and Ilhe peculiar disposition of the pipes the exact regula-` tion of the blast is provided for to meet all requirements as to lc'md of gas'and quantity of the same, as

from one concave to the next, it is taken up by the wheel next in the series and dropped ,upon the concave next below, and on, being subjected at each stage to a gradually increasing temperature as it nears the place of deposit 2 at the end of the roasting chamber. The tanks 14, 16 and 20 serve as depositories notV only ior such metallic values as may be carried over in volatile'formand there precipitated, but `any values which may' be carried over in mechanical suspension are there precipitated and thus saved. Moreover the tank 16 serves for the formation, ineidental to the roasting of the ore but none the yless efficiently, of sulfuric acid from the volatilized sulfur, ,gases and steam introduced thereto,whichV islwithdrawn to the tank V20. Thus in` the oneapparatus, l am able to subject ores to a preliminarydryin'g action,

and thento roasting under a constantly increasing temperatmie, and simultaneously to such oxidizing 'or redmriing action as may be best adapted to the-nature o drome, while at the same timel save the metallic values carried over in volatile form or in mechanical sand utilize the waste products in the 4formation of sulfuric acid.`

While I have herein described my apparatus as employed in the treatment of metallierous ores, it will 1 l5 be understood that my invention is also adapted to use in connection with the treatment of cement, non-metalliferous ores, lime stone and even to the roasting of grains. Wherefore I do not desire to be understood as the term ores in a narrow sense but as including any raw' material which it is desired to subject to a roasting process.

Having thus fully described my invention, what l claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is

1. ln an apparatus ot' the character described, a channel, menne for heating the same, an `ore supply thereto,

- means for llftlng the ore and nrojeetlnr,v it forward In line with the channel, and menus for dlschnrcing heated gus into the ore during lts passage through the channel.

concave shelves. peripheral scoops or buckets on the wheels and adapted to pick the ore up from one concave shell' und curry it over und allow it to fail in line with the sus discharge pipes, n drying chamber forming a continualiou al the upper end of the roasting channel und provided with oppositeiy disposed dcccting plates, an ore supply at the uppcr end of the drying chamber, a pipe leadim.: from the drying chamber, a precipitating tank communicating with said last named pipe.' a steam pipe com municatlng with said tank, a pipe leading therefrom to an 10 acid chamber and means'for withdrawing the acid formed therein.

Witnesses:

WILLIAM W. Famosos, Faun W. BLUM.

JAMES W. BOILEAU. 

